Erin, this was riveting — and your contrasts between the Gates of Hell and Merv really brought Turkmenistan’s contradictions to life. My husband Nigel and I slow travel full-time, and we’ve felt that same dissonance in places where history and spectacle coexist uneasily — beauty layered over loss, silence sitting right beside showmanship.
Your reflections on “flash over substance” hit especially hard. It’s such a universal theme in travel — what a country chooses to preserve versus what it lets fade. Thank you for taking us somewhere few will ever see and for asking the harder questions along the way. -Kelly
Wow - high praise indeed! Thank you, Kelly. 💐 I so appreciate your comment, especially because I struggled to understand my own thoughts about Turkmenistan.
I also struggle with visiting (and thereby tactily supporting) countries with harsh regimes. If I go, I try to lift the veil and show society and the pulse underneath to gain a better understanding for myself and to share with others.
I completely get that — it’s such a fine line, isn’t it? Wanting to experience and understand a place deeply while also being mindful of what our presence supports.
I love your approach of “lifting the veil” — that’s exactly the kind of travel that expands perspective instead of just consuming it. Thank you for saying that so beautifully. –Kelly
Nice trip report! Turkmenistan has been on my list for a while. Just out of curiosity, do you know why the majority of your fellow applicants were denied entry?
Happy you liked it, Brad! Our guides gave two possible explanations (but the goverment can reject an application for any reason).
1) The 7 that were rejected were flying out 2 days before us 3 (who were going overland back to Uzbekistan). The day they were scheduled to fly out was Turkmenistan’s national day. Our guide told us that never had the government issued invitations during national day before. So, it might have been a fluke of timing. (Although I think the agency should have mentioned that it was national day.)
2) No one from one of the 5 forbidden countries will be issued an invite: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen. One of the 7 applicants was born in one of these counties and birth place would have appeared on his U.S. passport.
Importantly, if one person is rejected, then all applying together will be rejected. The tour agency handling the invitation process split our applications based on when we were leaving the country, so again the 3 of us were on a separate application then the 7.
Feel free to DM me if you’d like more info and my recommendations on guides.
Thank you for that detailed answer. The possible reasons make sense from a bureaucratic standpoint, from a country that is not all that interested in tourism anyway.
Erin, this was riveting — and your contrasts between the Gates of Hell and Merv really brought Turkmenistan’s contradictions to life. My husband Nigel and I slow travel full-time, and we’ve felt that same dissonance in places where history and spectacle coexist uneasily — beauty layered over loss, silence sitting right beside showmanship.
Your reflections on “flash over substance” hit especially hard. It’s such a universal theme in travel — what a country chooses to preserve versus what it lets fade. Thank you for taking us somewhere few will ever see and for asking the harder questions along the way. -Kelly
Wow - high praise indeed! Thank you, Kelly. 💐 I so appreciate your comment, especially because I struggled to understand my own thoughts about Turkmenistan.
I also struggle with visiting (and thereby tactily supporting) countries with harsh regimes. If I go, I try to lift the veil and show society and the pulse underneath to gain a better understanding for myself and to share with others.
I completely get that — it’s such a fine line, isn’t it? Wanting to experience and understand a place deeply while also being mindful of what our presence supports.
I love your approach of “lifting the veil” — that’s exactly the kind of travel that expands perspective instead of just consuming it. Thank you for saying that so beautifully. –Kelly
Nice trip report! Turkmenistan has been on my list for a while. Just out of curiosity, do you know why the majority of your fellow applicants were denied entry?
Happy you liked it, Brad! Our guides gave two possible explanations (but the goverment can reject an application for any reason).
1) The 7 that were rejected were flying out 2 days before us 3 (who were going overland back to Uzbekistan). The day they were scheduled to fly out was Turkmenistan’s national day. Our guide told us that never had the government issued invitations during national day before. So, it might have been a fluke of timing. (Although I think the agency should have mentioned that it was national day.)
2) No one from one of the 5 forbidden countries will be issued an invite: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen. One of the 7 applicants was born in one of these counties and birth place would have appeared on his U.S. passport.
Importantly, if one person is rejected, then all applying together will be rejected. The tour agency handling the invitation process split our applications based on when we were leaving the country, so again the 3 of us were on a separate application then the 7.
Feel free to DM me if you’d like more info and my recommendations on guides.
Thank you for that detailed answer. The possible reasons make sense from a bureaucratic standpoint, from a country that is not all that interested in tourism anyway.
I’ve been there as well; what a weird country!
Right?! 🥴 Would you recommend others visit?
Not really, all the other Central Asian countries have so much more to offer and are easier to get into and travel around.
I agree 💯
I can’t believe you ended this on a cliff hanger, now I can’t wait for part 2 😂
😉 Coming next Friday!
👀